K-12, college/university, and mass shootings: similarities and differences

ABSTRACT

In a 2003 study, we examined five antecedents of school shootings – a history of rejection, acute rejection experience, history of psychological problems, fascination with death or violence, and fascination with guns. In three studies, the current project examined the role of these factors in 57 K-12 shootings, 24 college/university shootings, and 77 mass shootings that occurred since the original study. Over half of all shooters had a history of psychological problems. More K-12 shooters than college or mass shooters displayed a history of rejection. However, more mass than school shooters had experienced an acute rejection, such as a workplace firing. The characteristics identified in the original study appeared as common antecedent conditions of not only K-12 shootings but college/university and mass shootings as well. These results identify problems that can be addressed to minimize the occurrence of school and mass shootings.

KEYWORDS:

• School shootings
• gun violence
• bullying
• rejection

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

A portion of the data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/u5x4p

Open scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badge for Open Materials. The materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/u5x4p.

Notes

1. The number of shootings utilized in the current study differs markedly from that used in other databases, such as the Washington Post database (Cox et al., 2019), the K-12 School Shooting database (K-12 SSDB, 2019), and the CDC study of school homicides (Holland et al., 2019). As noted in the text, different studies have used different criteria for defining a school shooting. Our criteria were influenced by our previous study as our desire was to investigate the extent to which the antecedent conditions previously identified still applied.

2. Importantly, most of the psychological problems identified in reports of shootings were not clinical diagnoses. While diagnoses for a small number of shooters were disclosed in court transcripts, the majority of codings of psychologicalt problems were based on mental health conditions listed in the news media with unknown clinical verification. Thus, caution should be taken in drawing inferences about the relationship between mental health and subsequent aggressive behavior in the form of shootings.

3. Depending on the variable being discussed, percentages were determined by dividing by either the number of shootings (n = 77) or the number of shooters (n = 79).

4. Some of the warnings were highly explicit such as the threat conveyed by the Parkland shooter in a video he released announcing his intentions the day he perpetrated his school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida: “Today is the day. The day that it all begins. The day of my massacre shall begin. All the kids in school will run and fear and hide. From the wrath of my power they will know who I am. I am nothing. I am no one. My life is nothing and meaningless. Everything that I hold dear I let go beyond your half. Every day I see the world ending another day. I live a lone life, live in seclusion and solitude. I hate everyone and everything. With the power of my AR you will all know who I am.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robin Marie Kowalski

Dr. Robin Kowalski is a Centennial Professor in the Psychology Department at Clemson University. Her research interests focus on aversive interpersonal behaviors, most notably cyberbullying, complaining, and rejection.

Mark Leary

Dr. Mark R. Leary earned his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Florida (1980) and taught at Denison University, the University of Texas at Austin, Wake Forest University, and Duke University, where he is Garonzik Family Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience.

Tyler Hendley

Tyler Hendley is a Post-Baccalaureate Clinical Fellow at the Simches Center of Excellence in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at McLean Hospital and an alumnus of Clemson University.

Kaitlyn Rubley

Kaitlyn Rubley is a graduate of Clemson University who will be working towards her Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Columbia University.

Catherine Chapman

Catherine Chapman recent graduate from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology where her research involved complaining and mass shootings. She is now working full-time on her startup she co-founded while at Clemson.

Hannah Chitty

Hannah Chitty is a senior psychology major attending Clemson University’s Honors College. Her past research has centered around rejection and she intends to attend medical school after graduating in May.

Hailey Carroll

Hailey Carroll is a student studying psychology and sociology at Clemson University, as well as an Independent Living Assignment for ClemsonLIFE. Her research interests focus on the special needs community, bullying and cyberbullying, and school shootings.

Andrew Cook

Andrew Cook is a senior undergraduate psychology student at Clemson University. He has contributed to research involving K-12, college, and mass shootings.

Emily Richardson

Emily Richardson is a Senior Undergraduate Student in the Clemson Honors College at Clemson University. She majors in Psychology, with a concentration in life sciences.

Chelsea Robbins

Chelsea Robbins is a doctoral student in Clemson’s Industrial-Organizational Psychology program. Her research interests center around the treatment of diversity in the workplace, particularly in the academic workplace and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stephen Wells

Stephen Wells is a graduate of Clemson University where he received his degree in psychology.

Leah Bourque

Leah Bourque is a graduate of Clemson University pursuing her Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte.

Robyn Oakley

Robyn Oakley graduated from Clemson University and is currently pursuing a graduate degree.

Hailey Bednar

Hailey Bednar received her B.S. in Psychology from Clemson University and is earning her master’s degree in public health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Her research interests include health behaviors in settings of humanitarian emergency and evaluation of emergency response health programs.

Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones is a graduate of Clemson University pursuing graduate studies at Georgetown.

Kate Tolleson

Kate Tolleson is an undergraduate student at Clemson University majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Psychology. She has been involved in research in the fields of Social Psychology and Health Psychology, and plans on attending medical school in the future.

Kelsey Fisher

Kelsey Fisher graduated from Clemson University and plans to attend medical school.

Riley Graham

Riley Graham is a graduate of Clemson University and currently enrolled in medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Molly Scarborough

Molly Scarborough is a graduate of Clemson University with a degree in Psychology.

Sarah Anne Welsh

Sarah Anne Welsh is a graduate of Clemson University, with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology, and minor in Nonprofit Leadership. She is interested in social justice advocacy for the most poor and vulnerable in society.

Mya Longacre

Mya Longacre is a s enior Health Sciences major and Psychology minor with a passion for studying behavioral health and overall well-being.